Arts and Culture
Arts and culture are vital to the Notre Dame experience. Whether you attend a sold-out show at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, visit the newest exhibition at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art, participate in community arts projects, perform in a student group with your friends, receive faculty mentorship in studio or rehearsal, cheer on the Band of the Fighting Irish, or pause to appreciate the beauty of the Word of Life mural, you’ll find even a single day on campus offers meaningful arts experiences.
Notre Dame’s mission to nurture the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—makes it a truly unique and welcoming place for artists and arts scholars, arts enthusiasts, and the creatively curious. With state-of-the-art facilities, over a dozen majors, minors, and graduate programs across the arts and architecture, over 1,000 annual arts events, and over 50 student arts organizations, Notre Dame offers countless opportunities for artistic inquiry and creative expression.
- 1,000+ annual arts events.
- 50+ student arts organizations.
Alongside distinguished arts faculty who regularly produce highly acclaimed creative and scholarly work, our campus is enriched by the continuous presence of world-class visiting artists and arts researchers, a growing local arts scene, close proximity to Chicago’s vibrant arts and culture offerings, and a robust network of global partners. This wide-ranging arts ecosystem comes together every two years for a signature festival found only at Notre Dame—the Notre Dame Arts Biennial, a six-month, collaborative endeavor grounded in the visual, performing, and literary arts.
The biennial is a central component of the University-wide Arts Initiative, launched in 2024 to mobilize the transformative power of the arts to advance knowledge, invigorate learning, and transcend conventional boundaries. With an emphasis on innovative collaborations, the initiative enlivens the campus’s distinctive character. From the classroom to the community center, and from the chapel to the stage, Notre Dame offers a mission-oriented home where the arts foster a sense of belonging and concern for the common good.
